At stake in this election:

• The office of the President of Mauritania

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Ely Ould Mohamed VALL (3 August 2005 - 19 April 2007)
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Sidi Mohamed Ould BOUBACAR (7 August 2005 - 20 April 2007)
• Assembly: Mauritania has a bicameral Barlamane (Parliament) consisting of the Majlis al-Shuyukh (Senate) and the Al Jamiya Al Wataniya (National Assembly). There are 56 seats in the Senate and 146 in the National Assembly.

Description of electoral system:

• The president is directly elected by absolute majoirty popular vote in two rounds if needed for a 5-year term.

Main Candidates in the Second Round of the Presidential race:

• Sidi Ould Cheikh ABDALLAHI
  • Independent(s): N/A
• Ahmed Ould DADDAH
  • Party: Rally of Democratic Forces / Regroupement des forces democratiques (RFD)

Main Candidates in the First Round of the Presidential race:

• Sidi Ould Cheikh ABDALLAHI
  • Party: N/A
• Ahmed Ould DADDAH
  • Party: Rally of Democratic Forces (RFD) / Regroupement des forces democratiques
• Zeine Ould ZEIDANE
  • Party: N/A
• Messaoud Old BOULKHEIR
  • Party: Popular Alliance for Progress / Alliance populaire pour le progres
• Ibrahima Moctar SARR
  • Party: N/A
• Saleh Ould HANENNA
  • Party: N/A
• Mohamed Ould MAOULOUD
  • Party: Union of the Forces for Progress (UFP) / Union des forces du progres
• Dahane Ould Ahmed MAHMOUD
  • Party: N/A
• Mohamed Ould CHEIKHNA
  • Party: N/A
• Mohamed Khouna Ould HAIDALLA
  • Party: N/A
• Ethmane Ould Cheikh Ebi EL MAALI
  • Party: N/A
• 9 others
  • Independent(s): N/A

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 3,328,285 (2007)
• Registered Voters: 1,132,877 (February 2007)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 1,656,063 (2007)

·         Is Mauritania a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Mauritania ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (10 May 2001)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 17 Assembly (following the 2006 elections); 10 Senate (following the 2007 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 156 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very High (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Mauritania a signatory to CRPD: No

·         Has Mauritania ratified CRPD: Yes, accession (3 April 2012)

·         Population with a disability: 499,242 (est.)